Every human activity entails the conversion of energy. Changes in the fundamental sources
of energy, and in the use of energy sources, are a basic dimension of the evolution of�…

Glossary antiquity The era of ancient (from the Western perspective, mostly the Middle
Eastern and Mediterranean) civilizations extant between prehistory and the Middle Ages�…

Energy is the only universal currency. One of its many forms must be transformed into
another in order for stars to shine, planets to rotate, living things to grow, and civilizations to�…

Life on Earth is driven by energy. Autotrophs take it from solar radiation and heterotrophs
take it from autotrophs. Energy captured slowly by photosynthesis is stored up, and as�…

Energy: Engine of Evolution is a compelling book that provides a compact history of energy
over the last four billion years, with the aim of creating a sound basis to understanding the�…

247 the ground, while the explosion shattered windows far across the Mississippi River in St.
Paul. In all, eighteen people were killed. 1 The Minneapolis mill explosion provides a�…

Societies before the Industrial Revolution were dependent on the annual cycle of plant
photosynthesis for both heat and mechanical energy. The quantity of energy available each�…

This is a fascinating book. At first glance it is an eclectic compilation of facts, figures and
statistics on energy, energy densities, and power and power densities on our planet. It�…

Between 1842 and 1847, the hypothesis of energy conservation was publicly announced by
four widely scattered European scientists-Mayer, Joule, Colding, and Helmholtz-all but the�…

In medieval Europe wood was utilized not only in many types of construc tion but also in
most domestic and industrial heating. Then in Britain in the second half of the 16th century�…